


We Didn't Even Realize It Got Dark

by endemictoearth



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: F/M, picture prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 13:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14874954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endemictoearth/pseuds/endemictoearth
Summary: A little ficlet based on an illustration I saw on Tumblr. Borrowed title says most of it. :D





	We Didn't Even Realize It Got Dark

[Inspiration Illustration](http://pascalcampion.tumblr.com/post/170726897587/we-didnt-even-realize-it-got-dark-pascalcampion)

For a long time, words were hard, for both of them. Finn claimed he was bad with them, full stop. Rae was usually good with words, but not around him. They got stuck: in her chest, in her throat, in her head, and she’d get quiet, hoping for someone else to fill the awkward silence.

Slowly, though, they warmed to each other, loosened their tongues, and when the mood was right, the words flowed out of them. Sometimes it was barely a conversation, just a solid stream, two people riding the same wavelength as far as they could before static jostled the frequency. Thoughts were immediately confirmed with “I know!” or “Exactly!” and it seemed too good to be real.

It didn’t feel real at all right now, in the near dark, in the last moments of purple dusk. Rae had come to see Finn play footy with the lads, and when the game broke up, they broke off from the crowd, drifting along paths in the park, no destination in mind, just not wanting to leave the other to go to their respective homes.

Eventually, they found a bench sheltered under a bloody great big tree. They sat down, mouths still moving, still making so many words and sounds of agreement and exclamations of mutual discovery. “You like that, too?” “That’s my favorite, as well!” they barely knew what their bodies were doing.

And then, like night falling, like the dark gathering around them, silence crept up on them. Words weren’t necessary anymore. And it wasn’t awkward, like those silences in the pub, or at Chloe’s rounder games. If anything, it was charged. The sudden silence was a conduit, sparking with potential energy, electricity arcing between them.

Finn leaned forward, and Rae held herself steady. She could have tilted her head back, or down, or looked up at the few stars starting to wink in the indigo sky. But she didn’t; she kept her head even and looked right at him as he looked at her, eyes drifting frequently to her lips. She had to consciously keep herself from licking them, but couldn’t keep the half smile from curling them up at the corners.

They were still speaking to each other, the language now was looks and expressions. Finn’s smile cracked his face in half, and Rae couldn’t help but dial her closed-mouth smirk up to a gum-baring grin. Without noticing, their eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, though they had to lean in close to see each other clearly. Rae could feel Finn’s breath hot on her cheek when a bright light flashed across her field of vision and she winced without thinking.

When she peered through her eyelashes to see if it was gone, Finn was also squinting.

Before she could ask what it was, a man walked up, swinging a flashlight. “Park closes at dark. I’m about to lock the gates. Probably want to get a move on, so’s you’re not trapped here till morning.”

It was hard to gauge each other’s expressions as the bright light jangled across their faces, but there was an air of regret that bubbled between them and didn’t dissipate as they walked, side by side, to the exit.

On the street, outside the park, Finn shrugged in the direction of the pub. No doubt the rest of the gang were there, shouting over the jukebox and having a grand time. Rae held her breath, but shook her head. “Gotta get home. Mum’s expecting me.” It mattered, though she hated that it did.

Finn nodded at the ground, shoulders slumped ever so slightly in Rae’s direction. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Rae, again. Finn was apparently beyond words at the moment. He nodded, shoulders pulling up and back, emphatic.

Rae’s fingers toyed with the strap of her backpack, her head tilted tentatively in Finn’s direction. She couldn’t make herself move toward him, but when he stepped forward, his right hand grasping her elbow and his lips pressed firmly against her cheek, she stayed still. That electricity from before flowed from the point of contact, down her neck, reverberating all the way to her toes.

Finn sprang away from her, smiling. He waved cheerfully and spun around to practically skip in the opposite direction. Rae watched him go, still thrumming with energy. Her vision dimmed and swirled. It was night, and truly dark, and she snapped awake to rush home.

When she got there, Linda had one hand on her hip. “What time do you call this? It’s after dark and your dinner’s turned to ice!”

Rae shook her head. “Sorry I’m late, Mum. We didn’t notice the time.”


End file.
